Fan created Wolf Reveal Trailer Interview

On February 1st JDRider02 on YouTube uploaded a video of a Fan created Wolf Reveal Trailer in the style of the official trailers used to reveal characters for Smash 4. Today I have the opportunity to discuss the video with him, the creative process and his motivations behind it.

shane3x: Firstly thank you for agreeing to take a few questions. Could you introduce the members that worked on the video itself?

JDRider02: In actuality the video was pretty much worked on by myself, no team at all. Though if I had to give credit where credit is due, I’d still give some to the people who ported the models used in the video. The complexity in making those models work is something I can’t accomplish yet.

How much are you a fan of Wolf as a character, as a fighter in Smash Brothers and of the Star Fox Series overall?

JDRider02: I’ve never really been attached to the Star Fox series other than Smash and small videos/memes, but it does interest me a lot. I primarily know more about Wolf through Smash than his home series, and I always liked seeing him as a mirror to Fox. On a side note he’s my main in Project M, which really made me like him (dunno if putting any Project M related stuff is legal in this, worth a shot).

What are your feelings about Wolf not returning to Smash 4?

JDRider02: When we got the full roster back in August 2014 with that leak I was disappointed to see that some Brawl characters wouldn’t return. The choices were obvious (Snake was 3rd party, Ice Climbers exceeded 3DS limitations, no transformations for Pokemon Trainer, Lucas and Wolf were semi-clones which Sakurai said he would try to limit clones), but their disappearance created a void in me. Now for me at the time, Wolf also made sense to cut since 3 Star Fox characters that one could say play similarly is unnecessary. That personal condition was broken when Marth and Lucina were re-united with Roy, and with both Lucas returning and the Smash ballot, I believed that Wolf could get a chance back in…

Instead Bayonetta got in, and well I’m not as ecstatic about her like most others are.

Are you excited to hear about the current campaign led by wolfinsmashbros.com to have Wolf return in Smash Brothers in the future? What do you think about the infographic (Available on the website)?

JDRider02: The fact that there’s a campaign to bring Wolf back really intrigues me. It shows me that people can be dedicated to a beloved character, and the infographic is well put together and puts some good factual evidence to support this cause. It would be great to see this campaign make a major impact in the future of Smash

Describe to us how you went about actually making the video. It clearly requires a lot of work and skill.

JDRider02: Animating the video sequence was made in Source Filmmaker (SFM), Valve’s animation program. It took about 3 days to complete and render it. Then I used Sony Vegas to combine the footage with the Smash trailer intro and outro. Wolf’s splash card was also made using Sony Vegas, as well as SFM again (for Wolf and the background) and Photoshop (The “Wolf takes command!” piece). It’s not perfect, but I like it where it is.

Why did you create the video?

JDRider02: Alright dumb story time. So I wanted to make something in SFM and use the sounds in my computer for something, eventually it just came to me to make a Smash video. One of my mains in Smash 4 is Falco, so I made him the (decoy) protagonist and the plot around him. While I wanted to stop where he blew up, there was just something in my gut to tell me to add more. So I added Wolf, and since he wasn’t already in Smash I decided to make a full splash card for him (it works since some newcomer trailers are preceded by the actions of a character in the same series). The video is mostly a skit about Falco, but my intent for Wolf is real ever since the opportunity popped into my head. Also one of Etika’s videos, “The Wolf Dilemma”, inspired me to make this thing too (except he wimped out on the deal he made). I dunno if he’ll ever see the video. I’ll be very excited if he somehow does.

Did you have any special shout outs or things to plug?

JDRider02: Thanks for the interview. If you need to use my video for anything else I’m all fine with it [although it would be helpful it you could provide credit and a link].

Let us know what you thought of the video? Also what did you think of our first interview?